Bioelectrochemistry is a branch of
electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between Electric potential, electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve Electron, electrons moving via an electronic ...
and
biophysical chemistry
Biophysical chemistry is a physical science that uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems. The most common feature of the research in this subject is to seek an explanation of the various phenomena ...
concerned with
topics like cell electron-proton transport, cell
membrane potential
Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. It equals the interior potential minus the exterior potential. This is th ...
s and
electrode reactions of redox
enzyme
An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...
s.
History
The beginnings of bioelectrochemistry, as well as those of
electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between Electric potential, electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve Electron, electrons moving via an electronic ...
, are closely related to physiology through the works of
Luigi Galvani
Luigi Galvani ( , , ; ; 9 September 1737 – 4 December 1798) was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher who studied animal electricity. In 1780, using a frog, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when ...
and then
Alessandro Volta
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (, ; ; 18 February 1745 – 5 March 1827) was an Italian chemist and physicist who was a pioneer of electricity and Power (physics), power, and is credited as the inventor of the electric battery a ...
.
The first modern work in this field is considered that of the German physiologist
Julius Bernstein (1902) concerning the source of biopotentials due to different ion concentration through the
cell's membrane.
The domain of bioelectrochemistry has grown considerably over the past century, maintaining the close connections to various medical and biological and engineering disciplines like
,
biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
, and
enzyme kinetics
Enzyme kinetics is the study of the rates of enzyme catalysis, enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions. In enzyme kinetics, the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction are investigated. Studying an enzyme' ...
. The achievements in this field have been awarded several Nobel prizes for Physiology or Medicine.
Among prominent electrochemists who have contributed to this field one could mention
John Bockris
Bernhardt Patrick John O’Mara Bockris (5 January 1923 – 7 July 2013) was a South African professor of chemistry, latterly at Texas A&M University. During his long and prolific career he published some 700 papers and two dozen books. His ...
.
See also
*
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
*
Bioelectronics
Bioelectronics is a field of research in the convergence of biology and electronics.
Definitions
At the first C.E.C. Workshop, in Brussels in November 1991, bioelectronics was defined as 'the use of biological materials and biological archi ...
*
Bioelectrochemical reactor
*
Biomagnetism
Biomagnetism is the phenomenon of magnetic fields ''produced'' by living organisms; it is a subset of bioelectromagnetism. In contrast, organisms' use of magnetism in navigation is magnetoception and the study of the magnetic fields' ''effects'' ...
*
Enzymatic biofuel cell An enzymatic biofuel cell is a specific type of fuel cell that uses enzymes as a catalyst to oxidize its fuel, rather than precious metals. Enzymatic biofuel cells, while currently confined to research facilities, are widely prized for the promise ...
*
Protein film voltammetry
*
Saltatory conduction
In neuroscience, saltatory conduction () is the propagation of action potentials along myelinated axons from one node of Ranvier to the next, increasing the conduction velocity of action potentials. The uninsulated nodes of Ranvier are the on ...
Notes
External links
Johann Wilhelm Ritter contribution to the field
Electrochemistry
{{Electrochem-stub